As a greenhouse gas, methane is 20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. It is the product of decomposition and digestion and is produced in large amounts at sewage treatment plants, dairy farms and landfills.

Right now, the Point Loma plant flares off 1.3 million cubic feet of methane a day.

Finding a way to turn that waste in to energy profitably is a key goal for Mazanec’s firm, which has a contract to collect the methane put out by a Washington state landfill.

“We’re looking for customers like UCSD and the city of San Diego,” Mazanec said.

At UCSD, the fuel cell — the largest commercially available — will provide 7 percent of the electricity used on campus, Washom said.

Combined with solar panels and the school’s own natural-gas power plant, the university will make 90 percent of the power it uses on campus.